Vimeo Lays Off 6% of Its Workforce Citing Challenging Market Conditions

Video Business

by Dave KratzJuly 22^nd, 2022

Vimeo Inc. has announced that it will lay off 6% of its workforce citing challenging market conditions and uncertainty ahead. The video hosting platform claims this will give them the flexibility to come out of the economic downturn stronger. Should we be worried about darker times ahead?

Founded in 2004 by Connected Ventures, the parent company of CollegeHumor, Vimeo gained the attention of indie filmmakers for its higher quality and curated film content. If you recall, Vimeo was streaming 720p and 1080p, back when most videos on YouTube were only available in 360p.

A lot has changed since then, and New York-based Vimeo Inc’s (traded publicly as VMEO) shares have fallen approximately 85.64% since their listing. Trading opened in May of 2021 at $57.00, cratering to just $6.32 per share at the time of this article being published. On top of that, they’ve reported a downward trend in subscriber growth in their latest monthly metrics.

This could spell out big trouble for the company, who has struggled to find an identity with the changing marketplace. Recently, the company told shareholders that they are no longer an indie version of YouTube. They now consider themselves to be a B2B video-sharing solution. 

That’s a tough pill to swallow for anyone who regarded their Staff Picks selection as a badge of honor. Personally, I have discovered many amazing films and filmmakers thanks to Vimeo’s selections. In recent years, however, those selections have lost their prominence on the site’s page.

Check out this article of ours Will Vimeo Ever Sell Out? A Documentary (and the Death of Tip Jar) from 2015. Back then, Vimeo was attempting to make a site for user-driven content that was only supported by viewers. Times have really changed.

Vimeo lays off 6% of its workforce: statement from CEO Anjali Sud

In a recent blog post, Anjali Sud, Vimeo’s CEO, discussed the layoffs and the downturn in many tech companies.

“In recent months you have asked about layoffs, and I have said that we would do everything we could to avoid this situation.”

Anjali Sud, Vimeo CEO 07/18/22

According to the company’s 2021 annual report, Vimeo has a total of 1,219 full-time employees. Sud said that the job cuts were focused on a “small number of structural areas” of the business.

“The reality is that the challenging economic conditions around us have impacted our business. We must assume that these conditions will remain challenged for the foreseeable future, and that we aren’t immune.”

Anjali Sud, Vimeo CEO 07/18/22

Tech companies including Apple, Tesla, Coinbase, and Microsoft have paused hiring or are reducing their workforces recently.

“These changes are happening in order to make us stronger, and the best thing we can do is honor our colleagues’ contributions by continuing to build Vimeo and help our customers unlock the power of video.”

Anjali Sud, Vimeo CEO 07/18/22

She added,

“Our people are what makes Vimeo great, and losing any of them is a personal failure… I believe this is the responsible action to take.”

Anjali Sud, Vimeo CEO 07/18/22

The affected employees will receive a minimum of 12 weeks of pay, medical coverage assistance, job transition support, and other benefits.

Hopefully the company is able to pull through and weather the economic storm that is impacting the tech community. We can only wish the best for a company that has previously given us so much.

Vimeo will report its full second-quarter earnings results on August 4th. 

Featured image credit: Photo by Pixabay from Pexels / Editing by CineD

Do you use Vimeo to host your videos? How do you feel about Vimeo’s current financial situation? Let us know in the comments below.